Ultrasound ? ec(h)oes of the future

COCIR (European Co-ordination Committee of the Radiological, Electromedical and Healthcare IT Industry) has just released their third edition of its annual report on the Self-Regulatory Initiative (SRI) on the ecodesign of medical devices. The Initiative has been supported and officially acknowledged by the European Commission at the end of 2012.

The COCIR committee was founded in 1959 as a voice for the medical technology industry in Europe with members consisting of key players in the development of healthcare in Europe and worldwide. They seek to promote the development of harmonized international standards and regulatory control respecting the quality and effectiveness of medical devices and healthcare IT systems, without compromising the safety of patients or users.  One of the main goals of COCIR is to be pro-active in Green Technology (Eco-Design) and with this in mind the COCIR companies proactively committed with the European Commission to develop a self-regulatory initiative under the Echodesign Directive to reduce the environmental impact of medical imaging equipment. The project was presented to the European Commission in 2008.  The first version of the SRI methodology was submitted for comment during 2009 which led to the submission of a new SRI 2 methodology to the EU Commission in February 2012.  During November 2012, the commission acknowledged the initiative recognizing the benefits for society and healthcare. Each year a Status Report is published reporting on the progress and achievements of the initiative. This report is the third annual SRI Status report, the first after acknowledgement of the European Commission.  The current status report has focused on CT (computer tomography), after having covered ultrasound and magnetic resonance modalities in 2010 and 2011 respectively. 

Based on a consensus reached among themselves on a set of ecodesign targets, COCIR